NEW YORK – New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton was suspended without pay for the 2012 season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was banned indefinitely on Wednesday because of the team's bounty program that targeted opposing players.

Handing down sweeping and serious punishment for a system that paid out thousands of dollars when hits knocked specific opponents out of games, Goodell also suspended Saints general manager Mickey Loomis for the first eight regular-season games next season, and assistant coach Joe Vitt for the first six games.

In addition, Goodell fined the Saints $500,000 and took away their second-round draft picks this year and next.

After the NFL first made its investigation public on March 2, Williams admitted to -- and apologized for -- running the program as the Saints' defensive coordinator from 2009-11. He was hired by the St. Louis Rams this offseason.

Goodell will review Williams' status after the upcoming season and decide whether he can return to the league.

The Saints now must decide who will coach the team while Payton is barred, his suspension is effective April 1, and who will make roster moves while Loomis is out. After the NFL made clear that punishments were looming, Payton and Loomis took the blame for violations that they acknowledged "happened under our watch" and said Saints owner Tom Benson "had nothing to do" with the bounty pool, which reached as much as $50,000 in 2009, the season the Saints won the Super Bowl.

The NFL said payoffs went to 22 to 27 defensive players for inflicting game-ending injuries on targeted opponents, including quarterbacks Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. "Knockouts" were worth $1,500 and "cart-offs" $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs.

Nobody involved in this should ever be allowed to work for or play for any NFL team again. In a sport that frequently causes serious injuries without people purposely trying to injure each other, these guys were doing it on purpose.

Why do we let people get away with this kind of stuff with only a suspension or slap on the wrist when it involves athletics? Latrell Sprewell chokes his coach in the NBA, and gets suspended. Mike Tyson bites Evander Holyfield's ear off in a fight, but is not banned from boxing for life.

fettpett

03-22-2012, 01:14 PM

My only gripe is that there were no players involved in the suspensions, if Paul Hornung can get suspened for a year for gambling then these jackasses should get at lest the same

namvet

03-22-2012, 01:20 PM

My only gripe is that there were no players involved in the suspensions, if Paul Hornung can get suspened for a year for gambling then these jackasses should get at lest the same

I read punishment for the players is coming next week

fettpett

03-22-2012, 01:47 PM

I read punishment for the players is coming next week

ah, i hadn't seen that, between work and moving only get a little bit of time to keep up